archaeological site examination north yard of the ... - Fiske Center

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CENTER FOR CULTURAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL HISTORY Established in 1996, the Center for Cultural and Environmental History’s mission includes research, public service, and educational initiatives. The Center maintains archaeology and conservation laboratories and supports research in landscape and environmental archaeology, historical archaeology, and environmental history. Center projects often have an applied focus, seeking to promote and protect the cultural heritage and historic landscape of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the surrounding region. As a public service unit of the Department of Anthropology, the CCEH also serves an important educational role at the University of Massachusetts Boston, creating opportunities for students to participate in public service projects. iv
ABSTRACT A phased program of stabilization and restoration for the Loring-Greenough House and property located in Jamaica Plain, a suburb of Boston, MA, called for reconstruction of porches, construction of an entrance walk and new foundations for the carriage house. This program also included landscaping and rehabilitation of garden plantings in the north yard. Archaeological testing was conducted to identify cultural resources that would be impacted by the proposed project and to search for evidence of early garden features that could be used to guide landscape restoration. The first phase of research focused on house porches, walkway installation and foundation work in the carriage house (Mohler and Kelley 2000). The second phase of work, reported herein, focused on the temporal assessment of existing planting beds and identification of historic planting features. A total of five 1 m x 1 m units and four 1 m x .5 m units were excavated in the north yard. Investigations revealed the presence of an intact buried A-horizon in the east and south portions of the north yard that contains eighteenth and early nineteenth century artifacts. Sand walkways were laid down in the early to mid nineteenth century and may have corresponded with other house improvements made around 1840. Such improvements may have included the creation of a formal garden with beds laid out in a geometric pattern. These garden features were covered over with landscaping fill sometime after 1937 when a plan of the property was made by the Historic American Buildings Survey. The present parallel garden beds may have been created simultaneously with the geometric garden. The parallel beds have been maintained with slight twentieth-century modification up to the present. The irregular lilac beds at the north edge of the property appear to date to the late nineteenth or early twentieth centuries, while the herb bed was created in the late twentieth century. Evidence of seventeenth to eighteenth century garden features consisting of a series of small planting holes was identified below the south end of the parallel beds and associated walkway. The program of archaeological testing revealed the presence of a well-preserved buried A-horizon across much of the property that is associated with the eighteenth and early nineteenth cenury occupation of the property. In addition evidence of eighteenth century gardening activity lies at the base of the buried A-horizon. An early nineteenth century pathway was found on the surface of the buried A-horizon. Due to the presence of well-preserved arcaeological deposits recommendations for proposed garden restoration focused on the need to limit the depth of new planting holes to prevent disturbance to the buried A-horizon. Because tree planting and erection of posts for arbors require greater depths, it was recommended that the new planting and post locations should be archaeologically excavated to mitigate potentially adverse impacts. The excavated holes will then be used for specific trees and posts. The third phase of archaeological investigation associated with the foundations of the carriage house north wall joists will be reported under separate cover. v
Page 1 and 2: ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE EXAMINATION NOR
Page 3: ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE EXAMINATION NOR
Page 7 and 8: TABLE OF C ONTENTS Abstract . . . .
Page 9 and 10: I. INTRODUCTION The Jamaica Plain T
Page 11 and 12: logical site examination under Stat
Page 13 and 14: III. BACKGROUND A. Native American
Page 15 and 16: spruce and slight decline in oak ma
Page 17 and 18: construct a water supply between Ja
Page 19 and 20: England with General Howe on March
Page 21 and 22: Figure III-2: Plan of Loring-Greeno
Page 23 and 24: IV. PREVIOUS INVESTIGATIONS Initial
Page 25 and 26: F. Summary The previous investigati
Page 27 and 28: B. Scope of Work A major component
Page 29 and 30: the main house and east ell. This b
Page 31 and 32: Figure V-4: Plan of units 1-4 at 46
Page 33 and 34: Figure V-7: South wall profile of U
Page 35 and 36: items found in association with the
Page 37 and 38: Coarse sand and gravel walkways wer
Page 39 and 40: new arbor (Fig. VII-2:15). The new
Page 41 and 42: Dincauze, D.F. 1974 An Introduction
Page 43 and 44: Vineyard. Natural History Press, Ga
Page 45 and 46: ARTIFACTS FROM THE PARALLEL BED EXC
Page 47 and 48: ARTIFACTS FROM THE IRREGULAR BED EX

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